


The World Is Moving Too Fast

by tillfeelsdouspart



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, One Shot, i don't even know what this is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-03
Updated: 2013-12-03
Packaged: 2018-01-01 03:24:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1039771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tillfeelsdouspart/pseuds/tillfeelsdouspart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis sees Harry for the first (and last) time in New York.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The World Is Moving Too Fast

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a drabble of ideas that I've been writing for a while, it probably makes no sense but eh. Also, Christmas. 
> 
> (By the way, thanks for all the good feedback on my other fic)

 

Louis had always said that New York City was overrated; that all the books and movies about it describe it as lively and colorful and ever-changing, but from the center of Times Square, it really is the opposite. The only source of life comes from the giant screens on the buildings, and even those seem fake and manufactured. 

Then again, he had lived there for quite a while so maybe it loses its appeal over time. 

Occasionally, there will be a flash of color. A strand of bright pink escaping from someone's hat, a streak of electric blue from a person swinging a shopping bag. 

And on one cold day in December, Louis sees a pair of emerald green eyes from approximately 10 feet away. 

Among all the dirty slush lining the street and tired eyes of the city's inhabitants, the green stood out like a beacon, and Louis couldn't help but stare. But, of course, the person was gone within a second, swallowed up by the overpowering mass of gray. 

* * *

 

"It's Christmas Eve and I'm lonely. Could you at least meet me at Eleanor's?" Louis sighed into his phone.

"Lou, I've still got to get Christmas presents for, like, everyone I know. Did you call Zayn?" his friend Niall said on the other line.

"He's not even in America. Visting family or some shit." Louis smiled gratefully at the person holding the door ahead of him. He sank down into a seat inside the familiar warmth of the café, and waved to Eleanor, who was working behind the counter.

"Louis, I-" there was a pause. "-look, I'm next in line. Can I call you back?"

"Yeah," Louis replied gloomily, staring down at the table.

"Thanks, Lou. See ya." The line went dead, and the music of the coffee shop filled his ears.

He sat there for a moment, staring sullenly out the window at the people walking the streets of the city. He didn't even notice Eleanor sit down next to him until he heard her voice in his ear.

"You alright?" she asked quietly, making Louis jump.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine. I think."

"It's Christmas Eve and you're sitting in a run-down coffee shop in New York alone. You're not fine. Talk to me."

Louis sighed, scrubbing across his face with his hands. "What am I doing with my life, El?"

"To be quite honest, nothing. You should get out more. You look pale. Go to Florida."

"Oh yeah, let me just get some money and let's go. Oh wait-" he reached into his back pocket and took out his beat-up wallet. "Do you think the airport will accept a $10 coupon for pizza?"

Eleanor sighed, reaching over to rub Louis' arm soothingly. "I was kidding about that. But seriously, find a boyfriend, get a job. It'll turn out alright." Just then, the tinkle of bells signaled a customer walking into the shop. Eleanor stood up and started to walk away, calling over her shoulder, "If you need anything just let me know!"

"Thanks, El." Louis mumbled, not necessarily directed at her. He resumed looking out the window and picking his cuticles until yet another voice interrupted his thoughts. Resisting the urge to scream curses at the intruder, he turned calmly to see a familiar pair of eyes staring at him.

"Is anyone sitting here?" the stranger asked, green eyes twinkling. Louis had seen those eyes before.

"Uh... no? There are other seats, though..." he replied, gesturing at the other empty tables to emphasize his point.

"Oh, I know. You just looked lonely. I'll leave if you want-"

"It's fine." Louis interjected, watching as the other boy gave a slight sigh of relief.

"Are you sure?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"Positive. I'm Louis, by the way."

"Harry."

If it were any other person, Louis would have either a.) ignored them, or b.) punched them in the face. But this Harry character had curls and dimples and a really nice, deep voice, and god, Louis needed to get a grip.

* * *

 

"Yeah, I love you too. Merry Christmas." Louis said gloomily into the phone to his mother on the other end.

"You too, dear. Oh, and Lou?"

"Yeah?"

"You should come home soon. Everyone misses you."

Louis laughed lightly. "I'm not exactly made of money, Mum." He paused for a moment, looking at the picture of him and his family resting on the table near the couch. "I'll see what I can do."

"I love you, baby."

"Bye." he replied distantly, pressing the red end call button.

"I need to get out." he said to the wall, wishing it could reply. Instead, silence filled his ears.

* * *

 

Ten minutes later, Louis was standing on the curb in nothing but a thin T-shirt and sweatpants. Sometimes he really regretted his life choices.

"Louis."

Louis looked up into a pair of hopeful emerald eyes. "Harry. From Eleanor's. Hi."

"You remembered." Harry said, smiling bashfully as a blush crept onto his already pink cheeks.

"How could I not?" Louis said, lightly tapping the other boy's shoulder.

Harry laughed, and it sounded like Christmas bells. "How's your holiday been?"

"Uneventful. Yours?"

"The same, pretty much." he paused. "I was actually just headed to Rockefeller Center... may be cliché but why not, right?"

Louis nodded. "Well, if you need a friend... I don't have any plans."

Harry's eyes lit up like the tree itself. "Really? That'd be awesome."

The boy smiled. "Let's go, then, before it gets too late."

* * *

 

"I absolutely suck at this." Louis complained, staggering around the ice rink like he was walking on nails.

"You don't suck, you're just... worse than everyone else." And Harry was actually giggling, his gloved hand clapped over his mouth and everything.

As if to prove a point, Louis slipped for the umpteenth time, causing Harry to instinctively reach out a hand to catch him. "You alright?" he asked, pulling him back up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Except for the fact that a career in ice-skating is definitely not in my future."

Harry laughed. "You'll find a better profession. Do you really want to flounce around in a sparky leotard?"

"Not all of them do that. And who said I wouldn't?" Louis said, chuckling.

"I think it would suit you." Harry said, and you could practically hear the smile in his voice. "Aren't you cold?"

Louis looked down at the T-shirt he was wearing. He should've been cold, but Harry's voice made his insides all warm and fuzzy. "Nope, I'm fine. But thanks."

Harry thought for a moment, and then said, "Take my jacket anyway. You're making me cold just looking at you." Before Louis could say anything, Harry had draped the jacket over his shoulders.

At that point, the sun was setting quickly, and parents were starting to take their kids home, leaving the two boys more room to glide around the rink. Or rather, stumble.

And later, when they were returning their rented skates and Harry was helping an elderly woman who had dropped her belongings, the man behind the counter whispered, "He's a keeper."

Louis just smiled and went to join the curly haired boy, who was just engaging in a conversation with a stranger about the weather.

* * *

 

"Well, Louis, I had a good time today." Harry said later as they stood on the sidewalk. Snow was just starting to fall, and it was getting stuck in Harry's eyelashes.

"As did I, Harry." Louis said. As the other boy hailed a taxi, Louis observed the way he moved- in long, languid movements that seemed to match his tall, lanky body.

As the car pulled up, Harry suddenly turned and hugged Louis. 

"I can't wait to see you again," he whispered in the shorter boy's ear before pulling away and climbing into the vehicle It Louis a moment to register before he called out.

"Your jacket," was all he managed to say, still taken aback by the hug.

"Just keep it for now," Harry responded, and for an electrifying moment, his green eyes locked with Louis' blue ones. The spell was broken, however, when the door was shut and the cab drove off.

Louis could do nothing but watch as the car drove down the narrow street. He watched as it stopped briefly at the intersection, and watched as a truck plowed into the side of the car.

His fingers were still clutching the jacket, his mouth open in a silent scream.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm sorry


End file.
